Working with Youth
All you need to get started
Truthought's portfolio of workbooks literally does half the work for you. When we have the opportunity to interview learners and ask them what part of Truthought had the greatest impact on them they nearly always respond that the workbooks influenced more than anything else. They often remark that they did not like the workbooks at first because it made them think about things they did not want to think about regarding themselves, but later they found themselves eager to learn more as they found themselves on a path of success that they previously thought unattainable.
Workbooks can be distributed to each youth according to their risk assessment and/or according to the level of progress they are attending within the program. When learners are engaged in one of the workbooks on a daily / weekly schedule they take ownership of change much more rapidly than. The workbooks literally do half the work for you by putting learners on a path of individual spontaneous progression. It is a good plan for staff to review workbook assignments with learners at regular intervals.
• Tackling Tactics—Prevention, Diversion, Intervention
• Just Thinking— Diversion, Intervention
• Stay on Track—Diversion, Intervention, Re-entry, Aftercare
• The Road Ahead--Aftercare
A Pocket Guide for each learner. The pocket guides serve a multi-fold purpose. When the pocket guides and posters are treated as part of the standard principles of your program they eliminate opportunities for power struggles by removing the "us against them" atmosphere and placing the standards to be upheld by everyone on the pocket guides and posters rather than on the arbitrary judgment or diverse role modeling among staff.
Pocket Guides also serve as a reference for decision-making during counseling, or when learners are independently working through a problem. They engage learners in a process of finding their own solutions and thus taking ownership of their choices and their progress. When we interview learners the Pocket Guides are at the top of the list along with the workbooks when they tell us what helped them most and continues to have a lasting affect.
Set of 5 Posters for each group room, classroom, and counseling office. The posters serve the same function as the pocket guides and are especially useful in group work. Not only do they aid the learners in their thinking and problem-solving, but they assist staff in guiding learners through their own process of decision-making.
Charting a New Course Group Curriculum for each group facilitator, unit, or bldg. Hundreds of hours of group work in reproducible cognitive behavioral worksheets, role-plays, and activities with detailed lesson plans for the busy facilitator. This flagship curriculum from Truthought is designed to be flexible for use in open-ended groups, but it can easily adapt to use within time-limited programs where needed. Facilitators choose written and group activities in any order according to the common trends of thinking and behavior the majority of group members are currently exhibiting. In other words, if the group is indicating a lot of Power Control thinking or Victim-Role Thinking, then the facilitator may opt to choose a group exercise and lesson plan from the many choices in the sections labeled Power Control or Victim-role. Sections are on Tactics related to attitude, thinking, behavior, manipulation and emotions; Closed to Open Thinking; Victim-role to Personal Accountablity, "I'm Ok Thinking to Self Respect, Reckless Careless Living to Daily Effort, Instant Gratification to Self Discipline, Fear of "Losing Face to Courage over Fear, Power Control to Cooperative Relationships, Possessive Attitude to Healthy Relationships, and Superior Uniqueness to Humility. Research-based.
Thought Busters Animated Stories and THINKtivity Guides (reproducible worksheets) Variety adds spice and takes the redundance out of your group protocol without losing the continuity and integrity. These animated stories and downloadable, reproducible THINKtivity worksheets (cognitive behavioral discussion questions, written exercises, activities and crafts) offer a fun and refreshing alternative that can help take some of the "ho-hum" out of groups that need a touch of whimsy now and then to keep things light but still on task for learning. Great for use at home or as a family, too.
How to Track Results
Truthought Thinking Error Survey free online, use for pre/post or longitudinal tracking.
Progress Tracking Forms free with each Workbook, and Charting a New Course free online
OnDemand Training Get staff up to speed quickly and cost-efficiently with the skills they need to understand and identify Thinking Barriers and Tactics before they erupt in harmful behavior. Perfect for training staff who are new to Truthought, refreshing staff who need to update their Truthought Certification, and for teaching learners about how their thinking affects their behavior.
Additional resources
Books by Dr. Stanton E. Samenow
Before It’s Too Late
In the Best Interest of the Child
